Sánchez was struck during the melee, Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska told Spanish media on Monday, and was evacuated by his security team after it determined that the threat to the prime minister was “real and evident.” Marlaska added that the attackers belonged to “violent fringe” groups.
“We will let the investigation take its course … but it is obvious that there was reasonably a minimum of organization on the part of some marginal violent groups that must be condemned in the strongest terms,” Grande-Marlaska said.
A far-right group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Sánchez, according to Spanish media reports.
Locals in Paiporta are furious at how the Spanish authorities have handled the disaster and its aftermath, with urgent weather warnings delayed and help yet to arrive in some affected villages in the region. National government officials complain that regional authorities, who have jurisdiction over emergency management, have been slow to accept Madrid’s offer to send in more recovery forces.
Sánchez on Saturday announced that 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police officers would be sent to assist recovery efforts in the flood-ravaged part of the country in Spain’s largest-ever deployment of troops in peacetime.
Following the attack on Sunday, the prime minister urged the public to remain calm and said his government would continue working to aid those in flood-damaged areas.
“I want to convey all our solidarity and our recognition of the anguish and suffering of the people of Paiporta,” he said, while stressing his rejection of “the kind of violence like that which we’ve seen today.”
Aitor Hernández-Morales contributed to this report.